1880 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



435 



far suiH'i'ioi' to any they had had for years, 

 and they were iiifbriUL'd when and how to 

 plant and sow, and directed to save all the 

 product for future seed. Some probably cooked 

 and ate without planting, but many more 

 sent thanks and praised the produce they 

 gathered. lu the haste of purchases and 

 packing some few stale seeds were possibly 

 obtained, and a few were mislabeled or dam- 

 aged in transportation. And these very few 

 and unavoidable mishaps were magnilied, and 

 the kind-hearled old Commissioner was ridi- 

 culed and censured for "sweepiuj; seed stores 

 of their old refuse," aiid "sending the choicest 

 and dearest garden seeds to be cooked and 

 ealen uj) by the blacks and poor whiles ol'the 

 South ! !" And yet we have seen complaints 

 (and, I think, by members of (.'ongress on the 

 floor of Congress,) that the Soulliern people 

 had never been benefited by the Department 

 of Agriculture till very lately ! 



Wliile I woidd not rob the present C'ammis- 

 sioner of a single iota of credit for his great 

 efforts and laliors yet am 1 as unwilling that 

 his wortliy predecessors should be deprived of 

 their just dues to add to his ri^putatiou. Tliey 

 began amid the inexperience and difiicuUies 

 of a new institution and untried experiments. 

 Tliey accumulated an immense mass of valu- 

 able information, and by diffusing it abroad 

 have paved the way for many future successes. 

 The present Commissioners entered on their 

 labors and found their materials, as well as 

 their success and failures, ready for his use 

 and guidance. There is, therefore, no neces- 

 sity, and no justice, in depreciating either, 

 nor in unduly ascribing to any the works of 

 others. But let all agriculturists render 

 "honor to whom honor is due," and be chari- 

 table to all who labor in their behalf. — A. B. 

 G., Washington, D. C. 



For The Lanoabteh Farmer. 

 BEES DO NOT ATTACK SOUND FRUIT. 



'' No opinion seems to be more generally prevalent 

 than that bees tear open the enter skins of grapes, 

 plums, peaches and other fruits for the purpose of 

 feasting on the sweet juices within. Because they 

 are founil on these fruits in the act of eomniittins; a 

 trespass they are eondemnefi without a hearinfr or 

 any consideration whatever. It is most eommoul}' 

 said tliey stinsr the fruit. This is the result of sheer 

 ignorance. Neither the bee, nor any other insect, 

 employs its stins for such purposes ; they liave them 

 for other uses, as a means of defence airainst ene- 

 mies, and use them solely , IS nature designed that 

 they should. It is as impossible for a bee to stine; 

 open a prape as it is for it to open a walnut or a 

 shellbark by the same process. Its only means to 

 commit the deed of which it is accused is the jiro- 

 boscis with which it is armed ; but this, although 

 perhaps capable of tearing open skins of ripe fruit, is 

 never used for that purpose, its functions, like that 

 of the sting, being far different and confined exclu- 

 sively to to the ends designed by nature. Although 

 the charges are based mainly on the fact that at this 

 season large numbers of bees are seen on the grapes 

 on our vines, !)usily employed iu helping themselves 

 to the palatable juices, yet we assert very positively 

 that none of the persons who bring this charge of 

 stinging the grapes have ever seen the insects dejire- 

 dating on a sound grape or attempting to tear one 

 open. They always select those already injured, 

 and never perpetrate an original injury." 



Bees Do Attack Sound Peaches ! 

 Editor L.vncwsteii Faiwiek : The above 

 article, clipped from the Philadelphia Kerord 

 and there credited to The Faumer,* defends 

 our sweet friend the honey-bee from the 

 charge of originating bis own depredations on 

 fruit, with a contidence that ought to be 

 founded on accurate knowledge. I fear, how- 

 ever, that it is not. There is little to be .said 

 for the good sense of the people wMio imagine 

 tliat he uses his poi.sonous stinr/ for the i>ur- 

 pose of puncturing the fruit. Nature seldom 

 makes such a fool of lierself as that ; nor is 

 the bee under the necessity of turning his 

 stiletto into an agricultural implement for 

 such a purpose. Nor will any one suppo.se 

 that his slender and weak i)roboscis, with 

 which he sucks the juice of the grape and 



'This is a mistuke. It may have been from 8onie cou- 



trit)utnr. but it is. pereoDfilly, not fo7iriS, whether true or 

 faJse. See oar views on page 131 of the present number of 

 The Fabmeb. 



the nectar of tlie rose, is adapted for sucli 

 purposes ; but you seem to forget that he has 

 a pair of stout ntandihk.i as well. No doubt 

 the polished and tightly-packed skins of the 

 ciierry, plum and grape, are ordinarily be- 

 yond his power to puncture even with these ; 

 but tlitit the rough and tender cuticle of a 

 ripe and luscious peach jireseiils no such 

 obstacle, I have the best of reasons for be- 

 lieving. 1 have a tree of peaches ripening 

 July 15 to 2."), fully half of which were this 

 season tolled by the voracious insects. As 

 soon as the exposed cheek of the fruit began 

 to .soften, they atliicked it ; and it was not 

 uiiconmu)!! to sm; ten or a dozen bees upon a 

 single fruit. Upon driving them away the 

 whole surliice would be, fotnid thickly covered 

 with the piuictiires through which they sucked 

 tlie rich juiee.s. Tliis was so in innumerable 

 instances. I Ciinnot say thiit 1 actually saw 

 any single bee making liis lli-st attack upon a 

 sound fruit ; but as the liecs were; there in 

 force, and tlie other guilty creatures were 

 always "conspicuous by their absence," you 

 will liiid it dillicult to convim-e me that those 

 larcenous .saints \tere innocent. They were 

 caught in fiuijrmde delicto; tliere was a pock(^t 

 for each of the hypocritical little rascals, and 

 each was caught witli his hand in that pocket ! 

 What Sort of a verdict would you render in 

 such :i case as that, where the iiocket was 

 your own V — E. Welles, Wilkes- Harre, Pa., 

 Aug. 28, 1880. 



Selections. 



TOBACCO CULTURE-TREASONS FOR 

 TOPPING LOW. 



There is no subject of greater importance 

 to the tobacco grower than that of topping 

 tobacco. Tills has come to be vital. It is so 

 essential that if tobacco growers will not top 

 their toba'cco low they must expect to reap 

 unsatisfactory results. We appeal, therefore, 

 to all growers to top down low, and not be 

 alarmed lest they should lose weight by so 

 doing. Leave from 8 to 14 leaves on a stalk, 

 as in the judgment of the grower seems most 

 judicious. Top your tobacco all about the 

 same time. Top as soon as the blossom 

 buds make their appearance, and in some 

 instances before, in order to even up the 

 growth of the crop and to fit it pro))erly for 

 harvesting about the same time. Top and 

 sucker early in the stages of the growth of 

 seed stems and the suckers. 



Do not let the growth of your plants go to 

 waste iu unnecessary formation of long stems 

 and useless suckers; but let the juices and 

 strength of the would-be sucker stems go di- 

 rectly into the leaves to give them lieft and 

 value. Let the tobacco stand variously from 

 twelve to fourteen days after topjiing ; and if 

 it be domestic Havana, it is .said that it is bet- 

 ter to let it stand for three or four weeks after 

 topping. Sucker often. But above all things, 

 top low. I have seen many crojis seriously 

 injured by not topping low enough. Many 

 growers seem afraid that they willjose weight 

 of letif by tojiping low. This, however, is not 

 true. The reverse is the fact. You get 

 larger, broader, better and stronger leaves by 

 topping low. You get better colors. You 

 get more weiglit of leaf. You get healthier 

 tobacco and less white veins by topping low. 

 You get more even tobacco, of more uniform 

 growtli, and, tlterefore, more marketable leaf, 

 by top])ing down. In a word, you get by far 

 more ))cr pound for your crop by topping low ; 

 by topjiing it down sufficiently low for your 

 own interests and the interests of the manu- 

 facturers. 



Hanging. 



Hang on laths, iu sheds that are roomy ; 

 that can be closed up tightly if need be ; and 

 build walls under your tobacco house. Do 

 not allow your tobacco to pole-burn or pole- 

 rot, by hanging the plants too closely together. 

 In muggy weather srive them plenty of air to 

 prevent pole sweat ov rot. In dry, hot, sunny 

 weather, close your sheds tightly. In droughty 

 weather, wet tlie ground, or a litter of straw 

 placed under your hanging tobacco. 



CULTIVATION OF TOBACCO IN CUBA. 



Tlie lobaeeo is planted from the .seed. The 

 soil being pulverized and enriched with 

 manure, the seed is sown broadcast and the 

 plant having grown to a height of eight inches, 

 it is set out in rows about two feet apart, 

 when it has much the appearance of com 

 planted in this country. In Cuba great care 

 lias to be exerci.sed in guarding the seedlings 

 from the tobacco worm. This is the only in- 

 sect enemy the jilant has, for it is so astrin- 

 gent and bitter that nothing else will touch 

 it ; but so destructive is the worm that if not 

 looked after closely it will in a single night 

 destroy an entire plantation. As the worm 

 conceals itself during the day it is customary 

 for the iilauters' hands to go forth by night 

 with lanterns to destroy the jiest. The to- 

 bacco having grown until the leaves are fully 

 di^velopcd, the lirst cutting of leaves takes 

 I)lacc ; these lirst cut leaves are the largest 

 and finest. The plant is afterwards allowed 

 to grow until there is a second supply of 

 smaller leaves, which are also cut. The leaves 

 as they ari^ cut are carried to the tobacco 

 houses on the plantations, where they are 

 exposed to dry by the action of the air, which 

 process occupies abont six weeks. They are 

 then piled in layers, each layer being sprinkled 

 with a litpiid called "betun," which is a 

 strong lye made by soaking tobacco stalks in 

 water. The heap of tobacco, or "piloii," as 

 it is called, is covered with banana leaves and 

 allowed to ferment for .a couple of weeks. 

 This curing process being completed, the to- 

 bacco is selected and graded according to the 

 size of the leaf, the largest leaves and those 

 finest in color and quality being used for 

 wrappers, and the smaller for filling cigars. 



GOLDFINCHES vs. GRAPES. 



For several days we noticed that something 

 injured and ruined many of our ripe grapes. 

 The outside grajies of the ripest bunches were 

 burst open and let hang, iiart of the substance 

 having apparently lieen sucked out. Several 

 times as we approached the vine a goldfinch 

 flew away, and our suspicions were fixed upon 

 that. In course of three days one-fourth of 

 the grapes on a large vine were ruined, and 

 the most of those the third day. That eve- 

 ning, a little before night, we discovered all 

 the thieves at work at one time, and they 

 were six goldfinches. They work fast, anil 

 six of them, if unmolested, would ruin a 

 bushel of grajies jier day, if not more. It is 

 impossible akso to keep them away with anv- 

 thing less effective than jiowderand shot. We 

 give these facts, as others may profit thereby 

 and save their grapes-if not this year, ne.xt. — 

 Selinsgrove Times. 



HYDROPHOBIA OR RABIES. 



It is something more than probable that a 

 distinct nervous disorder or specific disease 

 exists which is only developed after a suitable 

 subject is inoculated with the virus. That it 

 is not the result of a morbid imagination can 

 be attested by the fact that the lower animals 

 contract the disease under the same condi- 

 tions as man. The reason why so much con- 

 fusion exists concerning this disorder is its 

 rarity ; though dog bites .are very plentiful, 

 as every tow-headed urchin and newspaper 

 can testify, yet a case of hydrophobia is very 

 rare, so very rare that most of our most ex- 

 perienced physicians have never seen a case. 

 This fact should be more generally known to 

 save needless alarm and terror, and the use- 

 less strapping and muzzling of dogs, which 

 have now a real reason for getting mad and 

 biting somebodv. Dogs, like men, suffer a 

 variety of disturbances of health, which in no 

 case of man or beast serves to improve the 

 general kiiitlliness of temper. In no case of 

 suspected "madness" should the .animal be 

 killed, if it can be secured from mischief 

 otherwi.se : in this way is lost the ojiportunity 

 of making valuable oKservations. It was a 

 rrreat misfortune that the dog was dispatched 

 that bit the Booth child. The "snapping 

 and barking like a dog" is not a proof con- 



